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Home , BBC Big Screen, Bradford Alhambra, City of Film, Heather Sears, Om Prakash, Pictureville Cinema

Thanks to: Colin L Sutton for his help with the history of cinema in Tony Earnshaw for details of Bradford's classic Michael Harvey for information on W E Berry Irna Qureshi for contributing comments made to her by members of the public during the 2007 IIFA Celebrations Dave McCall for his help with sourcing BFI images Oral histories compiled and edited by Irna Imran (now Qureshi), Tim Smith and Donald Hyslop, Bradford Heritage Recording Unit, CBMDC, 1994 Mellor, G. J. Movie Makers and Picture Palaces: A Century of Cinema in Yorkshire, 1896-1996, Bradford Museums, 1996 Branaghan, S and Chibnall, S. British Posters: An Illustrated History, BFI Publishing, 2006

For further information contact the Bradford of Film Project Team on Tel: +44 (0) 1274 431015 or 432179 Email: [email protected] www.bradford-city-of-film.com 8 0 0 2

Pace plc is a member of the Board for Bradford City of Film. Part of Pace’s contribution to the project has been its time and expertise in creating the t s design and co-coordinating the production of this literature. u History & Heritage g u

Pace is a world-leading technology developer for the digital TV industries, and its international headquarters are based in , Bradford. A National Media W E Berry’s film poster Museum, Bradford (1962)

Introduction Bradford seeks to become the first City of Film in the As well as its technical pioneers and classic locations, UNESCO . Home to some of the Bradford has other key links to the world of film. Before the earliest pioneers of cinema and the celebrated location of advent of television, over 45 cinemas flourished in the city and many classic films, Bradford can trace a proud and it is now the home of the hugely popular National Media accomplished film making heritage. Now, the city's film Museum (NMeM). Bradford has been the birthplace of a related stakeholders have devised a vision that draws on this whole range of international film talent and it plays host to history and acknowledges the vital role film plays in the social one of the most diverse programmes in . Introduction 02 and cultural life of this ethnically diverse city. The aim is to Bradford City of Film intends to build on more than a century Contents put film at the very centre of Bradford's regeneration. of achievement in film, ensuring that the city's rich heritage screenings in Bradford 03 is preserved and celebrated while addressing its current City of Film will, with regional and national partners, foster economic, social and cultural challenges. Bradford’s picture pioneers and businesses 06 an exciting film culture in Bradford by: This volume presents an overview of the film history and Bradford’s films 08 • enhancing opportunities for film viewing and participation heritage with relation to screenings and cinemas, film in film related activities Film and Bradford’s Asian community 14 businesses and entrepreneurs, and film making in Bradford • delivering projects of international standing including film City of Film. Celebrating film into the future 21 festivals, film seasons and cultural events

• supporting local film makers and creating an environment that welcomes film makers to the city

• celebrating the city's film heritage from its technical pioneers to the classics shot locally

• putting film at the very core of Bradford’s regeneration.

02 History of film early form of film rental, circulated to other halls in the Bradford's cinema history can be traced surrounding area. screenings in Bradford back to the 1890s. The first 'movies' were Bradford's cinema history can be traced back to the 1890s. Co-op Halls in the city centre and the suburbs were also used shown at the Kinetoscope Parlour in The first 'movies' were shown at the Kineoptosope Parlour in for showing films. Developed as an entertainment for Town Hall Square in 1894 using single shoppers, the idea was used as a means of corporate Town Hall Square in 1894 using single viewer machines, while viewer machines, while the first the first projected film images onto a large screen followed in advertising promotion well into the 'talkie' era. 1896 with the Lumière Show at the People's Palace Theatre. projected film images onto a large St George's Hall and Temperance Hall can claim to be the Soon these were being included as part of the regular music birthplace of 'full time' cinema in Bradford, while The Theatre screen followed in 1896 with the Lumière hall bill. de Luxe was the first to introduce 'continuous' programming Show at the People's Palace Theatre. In 1896, a demonstration of Wray's Kineoptosope was by Pathé Frères which was soon adopted by most other town given to Bradford Photographic Society in the Unity Rooms cinemas. in Sunbridge Road. A week later, Richard Appleton, a local photographer with his own studio, demonstrated his Growing popularity Cieroscope version of projected films at the Mechanics Bradford’s cinema traditions built up steadily over time: Institute. Edison apparatus was shown at St George's Hall • by 1923 Bradford had 42 licensed cinemas with five in and experimental films were to follow at regular intervals. nearby Shipley

Above: Riley Bros’ In 1901, Sidney Carter established New Century Films, • by 1929 sound 'talkies' were introduced Kineoptoscope Super cinemas showing regular seasons of films in St George's Hall before • by 1934 there were 40 talkie cinemas in Bradford Right: Wray’s setting up similar ventures across the north of . The 1930s saw the building of city centre 'super' cinemas, Cinematograph • the peak of cinema attendance was during the Second The renowned Mitchell and Kenyon films were also shot in large venues with extra facilities such as an organ, stage World War (1939-45) when there were 44 cinemas Bradford and shown at St George's Hall to capacity crowds. shows, cafe, restaurant and lavish ballroom. operating in Bradford and Shipley Bradford's jewel in the crown was its massive New Victoria For the next ten years more and more Bradford halls were • by 1962 this had dramatically reduced to 22 as a result of Theatre (later Gaumont/Odeon triple) which had 3,500 seats, used for film shows including The Empire Theatre and Lister the growth of television and the demolition of large areas a huge stage with dressing room, rehearsal and band rooms, Park. Various fairground sites also hosted travelling 'fit up' of terraced housing. shows. a Wurlitzer organ, ballroom, restaurant and tearoom. It had a resident orchestra and showed all the latest talkies. Of Following the Cinematograph Act of 1909, many more classical design and luxuriously furnished, it was 'the wonder converted or purpose built picture halls sprang up across the cinema of the North' and a cinema experience worthy of what city. The first purpose built picture hall was The King's Hall, was, at the time, a hugely prosperous wool trade city. built in 1911. The rival ABC and Odeon bosses (Maxwell and Deutsch In 1910, The Temperance Hall experimented with 'talking and respectively) realised they too had to offer something special singing', showing films crudely accompanied by a horn to compete. Odeon erected a 2,713 seat cinema which was gramophone. Pathé Frères opened their Electric Theatre de larger than its flagship in Square, London. ABC Luxe in 1911 and four large roller skating rinks were followed suit with its 2,037 seat Ritz cinema complete with converted into cinemas. The giant Towers Hall also had a film Compton organ, erected on a prime city-centre site. Both studio in the rear of the building which was the headquarters cinemas were the ultimate in luxury features and comfort. of The Captain Kettle Film Company and, later, Pyramid Films. Bradford was now a cinema-goer's paradise. It had three luxury super 'first-run' cinemas within walking distance of The Imperial Film Company used top floor studios in the town each other offering 8,350 seats in total between them which 03 centre. Its films were shown in Bradford cinemas and in an The Savoy Cinema, Darley Street in the 1920s were all regularly filled. 04 Centre for film Riley Brothers in Bradford’s picture From the late 1950s, Bradford has been a centre for the conversation at pioneers and businesses Based in Godwin Street, the Riley Brothers built a successful exhibition of South Asian films and the city can claim to , business in the 1890s supplying and exhibiting lantern slides. National Media Bradford played an important role in the early days of moving have been ahead of its time in catering for its ethnic In the early days, the firm’s founder, Joseph Riley, toured Museum pictures, its pioneers diversifying their businesses between minority groups. Methodist chapels giving 'Illustrated Lantern Lectures' and by film making, technological development and exhibition. Some 1895, the company claimed to have the largest collection of of the key names in Bradford’s early film scene included such “In 1958 I heard somebody had a cinema, Western Talkie lantern slides in the world. Theatre, on Park Road, area it was. That became legends as R J Appleton, the Riley Brothers, Henry Hibbert a cinema for Asian films. Gradually from 1958 more and more and Cecil Wray. The company began to make its own slides from life models cinemas became Asian cinemas, because in something like and it was a natural progression to develop an interest in film. One of the most important events was what is thought to be ‘56 or so television came to UK. Once television came British The Riley Brothers developed a commercial relationship with the first provincial demonstration of the Lumière Brothers’ cinema was declining…. When I came to Bradford in 1965 the Lumière Brothers in France and were invited to attend the Cinématographe. This took place on 6 April 1896 at the people used to run Elite cinema, that was on a weekend basis. first public demonstration of moving pictures in France in People’s Palace Music Hall, now the site of the NMeM. Royal Theatre, Marlboro’ Cinema, Roxy Cinema, Kashmir 1895. The Riley Brothers are thought to have been Bradford businessmen Hibbert and Riley are thought to Cinema on Wakefield Road. There used to be a cinema on instrumental in bringing what is thought to be the first have been instrumental in bringing the Lumière machine to Road by the name of Tower Cinema and Arcadian provincial demonstration of moving pictures in the UK to London as well as in staging this event in Bradford. They, Picture House. Majestic Cinema was where the Alhambra is Bradford in April 1896. along with notable others, played important roles in the now. They were running every weekend, and then some development and promotion of film technology and content The Riley Brothers later collaborated with Bradford-based became daily cinemas, three shows a day, seven days a week, in Yorkshire and beyond. engineer and inventor, Cecil Wray, and were responsible for showing only South Asian films. Sometimes a variety show the commercial production of Wray’s patented Kineoptosope with a singer and so on used to come, not often but it did Picture pioneers with the patent being registered just days before the happen once a year or so. Because Bradford has always been Many famous playback singers have also performed at demonstration of the Lumière machine in Bradford. a centre for Asian community in UK, namely the Pakistani R J Appleton St George’s Hall in Bradford, including and community, it was known as ‘Little ’ in them sort of R J Appleton and Co Photographic and Lantern Outfitters Mohammad Rafi. Legendary Indian comedy actor Johnny Involved in everything from content creation, to exhibition days. Manchester people would come to Bradford. Sheffield, were established in 1856 in Little Horton Road in Bradford Walker also performed at St George’s Hall. and distribution of equipment, the Riley Brothers were vitally , Stockton, Newcastle. All the cinemas had a variety of and later moved to Manningham Lane with branches in important figures in the early development of film. films, some people used to come to one cinema, twelve In 2000, Bradford businessman Nirmal Singh, one of Leeds and Halifax. o’clock, come out three o’clock and go to the next one.” Bradford’s richest men, bought Marlboro cinema as part of Henry Hibbert In 1897, R J Appleton used a cine-camera to take 'living Oral history quoted by Irma Imran et al, 1994 a consortium with Sunrise Radio Bradford. After a major Henry Hibbert started out as a printer with an interest in pictures' of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations refurbishment programme, the cinema reopened as the photography. Like Riley Brothers, Hibberts was another In the 1960s and 70s, South Asian entrepreneurs bought up in London. These pictures were then rushed to St Pancras North's first dedicated Bollywood cinema. However, it has Bradford company involved in all aspects of the early days cinemas destined for closure following the rapid growth of station and taken by train to Bradford where they were since closed down. of film. television. During this period Bradford had six or seven prepared for public viewing that night. The film development cinemas showing exclusively Indian films, far more than The tradition of showing South Asian films continues today took place in a special coach that acted as a dark room and Hibbert’s initial interest was through his association with the other cities. Bradford cinemas included Essoldo, Arcadian, through screenings at the commercial (multiplex) cinemas, was labelled the 'Bradford Daily Argus Photography Temperance Society and, throughout the 1880s, he travelled Sangeet, Marlboro, Royal and Towers Hall. There was no as well as at the NMeM and at the annual Laboratory'. extensively with the London Polytechnic Institute. He professional circuit of distributors then; instead cinema festival, Bite the Mango. developed a role as a lanternist and promoter of animated At this time, there was a turf war raging between rival papers owners would contact businessmen based in London and picture shows before going to patent. Hibbert was one of the In the modern era, with greater competition for leisure time, The Argus and The Telegraph and this was a publicity stunt on who had connections with film companies in group who patented, with Oulton, Shaw, Adams and Wraythe, Bradford, like other cities, is no longer able to sustain the behalf of The Argus. The pictures were shown at The Argus to acquire prints. the revolutionary 'Ebor Machine'. number of cinemas and screens that it once had. However, building for three nights running. On 26 June, the crowd was Many of Bollywood’s best known actors and actresses came film will remain an important part of cultural life in the city estimated to total 10,000, the biggest audience for moving Hibbert’s role in film was primarily in promoting film showings to Bradford where their films received UK premieres in the with the people of Bradford continuing to enjoy film through a images ever recorded. This record was unchallenged until a in various public venues using Riley Brothers' equipment. city. Stars included , Dharmendre, , range of media: at the multiplexes and independent cinemas, 1999 screening of The Fifth Element in Park, After the 1909 Cinematograph Act, Hibberts Pictures Ltd took 05 06 Vijayanthimala, Asha Parekh and Om Prakash. at festivals, and streamed via the internet or mobile phones. London also recorded a 10,000 crowd. off and, with its headquarters in Temperance Hall in Chapel Street, Bradford, the company established permanent Once the landscape 'quad' was established as the standard Bradford’s films cinemas in locations around . British size for film posters, W E Berry was one of a handful of printers with significant market power in this business. The early years In addition to his role in exhibition and cinema operation, the They printed most of Rank’s overseas posters and had major Films have been made in and around Bradford since the very multi-talented Henry Hibbert also translated French films contracts for Disney and Colombia. By the late 1990s Berry’s beginnings of cinema. There is famous footage of the city of into English was a flourishing business employing around 140 people. Bradford’s celebrations of Edward VII’s accession to the However, heavy losses in 2000 and 2003 put Berry’s into throne in 1902. Cecil Wray financial difficulties and the business folded in 2004. Cecil Wray was a partner, with Henry Hibbert, in Ebor Works, “A good starting point for any work on the British Empire and a camera and projection works in Leeds Road. It was here Unfortunately most of Berry’s early posters - up until the the place of the monarchy at the turn of the century, this shot that they developed the designs for their moving picture - were lost on the move from their old premises to a was one of several filmed in Bradford City Centre, showing camera known as the Ebor Machine. site at . However, the NMeM has a substantial the city's celebrations of Edward VII's accession to the throne. collection of both complete posters and fragments in its Filmed by the Mitchell and Kenyon firm, and screened locally Wray was an engineer by trade. He set up a partnership with collection. These were donated by the firm’s managing within days, this roll succinctly summarises the place of an optician, Cecil Baxter, and together they ran Baxter and director, Peter Lee and by the widows of some of the artists Empire - within publicly staged versions, at least – in Britain's Wray Manufacturing Opticians and Electricians at Borough who worked for the firm. sense of national identity. Two very different parts of the Mills in Manchester Road, Bradford. Empire, Canada and India, appear in the procession Some of the film posters that Berry’s produced include: represented by ethnic stereotypes before banners for the Despite his involvement in the 1896 patent of the Ebor The Ten Commandments (1923), Wild Beauty (1946), four nations making up the itself appear: Machine, Wray later reverted to promoting an improved Oliver Twist (1948), It’s Not Cricket (1949), Carry on up the England, Ireland (all of it then part of the UK), Scotland version of his previous Kine-Optograph design (patented Khyber (1968), The Way of the Dragon (1972), The Getaway and Wales.” 1895), in association with Riley Brothers. (1972), Kidnapped (1973), The Island at the Top of the World (1974), The Sweeney (1976), Confessions of a Driving Cecil Wray was also involved in the supply of film, setting up Instructor (1976), The Shootist (1976), Star Wars (1977), Wray’s Film Agency in 1911 which was in business until the Some of the earliest depictions of the city in film were made Warlords of Atlantis (1978), Flash Gordon (1980), Raiders of First World War. by James Kenyon (1850-1925) and Sagar Mitchell (1866- the Lost Ark (1981), Breathless (1983), The Terminator (1984) 1952). Kenyon and Mitchell formed their highly successful Related businesses and The Emerald Forest (1985). One of the last film posters partnership at the end of the 19th Century and made films printed by Berry’s was for Sam Raimi’s black comedy together until 1913. They released films under the trade W E Berry Ltd Crimewave (1986). name of Norden and were one of the largest British film The firm of W E Berry Ltd, one of the most important companies in the 1900s, producing a mixture of topicals, producers of film posters, was set up in 1888 at 13 Currer The presses on which these posters were printed, along with Some of the W E Berry posters: fiction and 'fake' war films. Based in nearby Blackburn, Street, Bradford, by William Berry, before his son William some of the printing blocks, are in the collection of Bradford Flash Gordon (1980) Mitchell and Kenyon made several trips to Bradford to film Edward took over in the early 1900s. After a split from his Industrial Museum. Star Wars (1977) public and sporting events. father’s business partner, William Edward set up on his own Carry on up the Khyber (1968) as W E Berry. During the 1920s, William Edward was Some of these early films of Bradford are still in existence. introduced to Fred Martin of Paramount and the pair started The British Film Institute (BFI) includes a film from 1903 a business relationship that cemented W E Berry’s position showing a rugby match between Dewsbury and Manningham as one of the leading producers and distributors of film Rugby club who, in 1903, switched allegiance to the round posters. Berry’s printed most and distributed all of ball and re-formed as Bradford City. Paramount’s posters. The Mitchell and Kenyon films have recently been celebrated Notable litho posters from the early period were for the through the BBC three-part television series, The Lost World railway companies and for Bertram Mills Circus. The posters of Mitchell and Kenyon , and are regarded in film circles as an were hand-drawn onto the stone by a team of freelance unparalleled visual record of late Victorian and early artists, working from original artist designs. Edwardian British life. 07 08 These greats of British cinema have been followed by a string of hugely successful film and television productions such as Yanks starring Hollywood heart-throb Richard Gere, The Railway Children with the beautiful Jenny Agutter, The Dresser featuring Oscar winner , Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life , Rita, Sue and Bob Too , Fairytale: A True Story , Private Function , My Son the Fanatic , L.A. Without a Map , Blow Dry and Like Minds . Harvey Keitel, Dames and Vanessa Redgrave and Australian Toni Colette are among the acting heavyweights who have lent their talents to films made in Bradford.

Bradford Coronation Procession, Mitchell & Kenyon (1902) Many of the classic films linked with Bradford have in fact been made on its borders in Skipton, , , Shipley, Other early films of Bradford include a 1923 film of Edward, Steeton, Baildon and within the wider area covered Prince of Wales visiting Bradford during his tour of the North. by City of Film. In many cases the same locations have been This was filmed by Hutchins, Yates and Taylor of the Topical used repeatedly. Keighley Station can be seen to memorable Film Company. Another was the 1948 production, Trottie True , effect in ’s Yanks , Charles Sturridge’s starring Jean Kent and James Donald which featured a scene Fairytale: A True Story and Beeban Kidron’s Amy Foster . in the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford. , the atmospheric Victorian necropolis that looms over the city centre, was the backdrop to Billy Liar Bradford’s indigenous beginnings can be traced and LA Without a Map. back to the years around the First World War, when two pioneering companies had studios in the city. In 1944, playwright Rodney Ackland made a documentary in Ilkley called The New Teacher (aka The New School ) for the The Captain Kettle Film Company was formed in 1912 by Ministry of Information (MoI). The film featured Peter Cushing Henry Hibbert and CJ Cutliffe. The company made a clutch of but, as the MoI considered it subversive, it was banned and silent two-reelers in the pre-war period as well as thrillers, became a 'lost' title in the Cushing filmography. To this day it and even westerns, with woodland, off has never been seen. In the same year, Beverley - born Ken Manningham Lane, doubling for the Wild West frontier. Annakin made We of the West Riding for the British Council. One of their stars was Kitty Vernon, who received the not inconsiderable sum of £1 a day to act in titles such as Scales In the late 1950s, the social-realist explosion in British of Justice. cinema known as the ‘kitchen sink’, provided Bradford with its leap into the movie big time. Room at the Top , starring After the First World War, William Phillips formed the , , Heather Sears and Sir Bradford Animated Picture Company. Phillips capitalised on was based on the controversial novel of the Scenes from the film classic Billy Liar , the burgeoning interest in moving pictures and shot newsreel starring Sir and (1963) same name by - born and told the story of local events that he then screened to paying audiences at of a cold-hearted and ambitious working class lad’s grab for the former Regent Cinema in Manningham Lane. success. Brilliantly made and critically acclaimed, Room at Classics and the kitchen sink the Top changed the face of the modern British film. In 1965, many of the same cast and crew returned to Bradford to Bradford has been the location for several classic movies, make a sequel, Life at the Top , again based on Braine's novel. such as Room at the Top , starring Simone Signoret and Laurence Harvey, and Billy Liar , starring Sir Tom Courtenay Another classic would follow three years later. Billy Liar , 09 and Julie Christie. adapted by and Willis Hall from 10 Waterhouse’s original novel, created a cult film icon in the early 1960s the line had been closed and was only re-opened 1940s for Peter Yates’s brilliant film of Ronald Harwood’s character of the slim, floppy-haired, congenital liar Billy two years before writer/director Lionel Jeffries made his smash hit stage play, The Dresser which was based on Fisher, played by Yorkshireman Sir Tom Courtenay. The film timeless film. The enthusiasts running the line were Harwood’s experiences on tour with grandiloquent actor- also featured Avengers star Honor Blackman and Jean struggling to attract visitors but all that changed with The manager Sir Donald Wolfit. The Alhambra received a Simmons, coming out of semi-retirement at 36 to replace Railway Children . Passenger figures doubled within months multi-million pound refit in 1984. Heather Sears. as visitors flocked to , and Haworth to see where the movie had been made. Nearly 40 years later, In 1983 the cast of Monty Python came to Bradford to film In the BBC documentary The Lost City , made in 1958, the they’re still coming. scenes for their controversial film classic, The Meaning writer JB Priestley lamented the 'slow death' of Bradford, of Life. the city that had once been his home and inspiration. The residents of Keighley will never forget the filming of Yanks in 1979. A $10 million World War II epic, it was based in Michael Palin returned to Bradford in 1984, to lead a stunning Bradford’s best loved the town for six weeks and enlisted scores of locals as willing cast of England’s finest actors including Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, , Tony Haygarth, John Undoubtedly one of the best loved films to have been filmed extras. Two sequences stand out: hundreds of GIs leaving in a Normington, Bill Paterson, Liz Smith, Jim Carter and Alison in the Bradford district is The Railway Children , which used convoy of army trucks, and the film’s emotional finale as Steadman, in Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray’s Private Oakworth Station, home of The Keighley and Richard Gere and his buddy climb aboard a packed locomotive Function . and other Bradford and Yorkshire Railway (KWVR), as the railway track at the heart of E en-route to the south and to D-Day. locations provided perfect settings for the film. Nesbitt’s book. Other principal locations included the Brontë Eighteen years later another drama was played out at Parsonage as the home of Dr Forrest, and Bents House, in Keighley Station, this time set during the First World War, Changing times Oxenhope on the moors above Keighley, as Three Chimneys with a little girl and her father setting out on a journey for where the children lived. More success followed in the 1980s and ’90s with Rita, Sue London and a meeting with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film and Bob Too , an unflinching portrait of life on an inner city The KWVR, a small, volunteer run five mile stretch of was Fairytale: A True Story (originally known as One estate which was released in 1987, the 1995 football hooligan railway track, played a significant part in Golden Afternoon ) directed by Charles Sturridge. drama i.d. and My Son the Fanatic , the story of a Muslim the success of The Railway father’s romance with a white prostitute, released in 1996. Less than a year after that, director Beeban Kidron Children . In the brought her production of Amy Foster to Keighley, Another major hit was East is East , based on Ayub Khan-Din's proving that some locations eventually take on a life of semi-autobiographical stage play and featuring hilarious set their own. pieces such as the family trip to Bradford (or Bradistan as the city's graffitied sign reads) and a jolly Bollywood pastiche set Bradford’s majestic Alhambra Theatre was chosen in the backyard of the family fish and chip shop. to represent a typical provincial theatre of the The film productions coming out of Bradford now reflect a different time and culture, but the city is still punching above Top: On location at Keighley its weight as a film location and centre for production. station in the World War II epic Yanks Some of the most recent films connected with Bradford are Middle: Scene fom The Dresser filmed at Bradford’s Alhambra shown in the following table; some may become the classics Theatre of the future. Bottom: The cast of Monty Python came to Bradford to film scenes for their controversial film classic, The Meaning of Life

Original film poster and stars from the hit 70s film The Railway Children 11 12 DESCRIPTION LOCATION PRODUCTION COMPANY/DATE The cinemas offered more than just an Film and Bradford’s South opportunity to enjoy films, they were central Quick Slip Me A Bride (feature film) - Set in Yorkshire and India, the son of a retiring priest Yorkshire (including Eyeline Productions, Asian community is dumped by his fiancée and decides the only way to avoid impending priesthood is an Bradford) and India Scheduled for 2008 to the social and cultural experience. South As Bradford’s population has shifted, so has the emphasis of arranged marriage. Asian people from all over the North of its films and film makers. Film has emerged as an important Spooks: Code 9 (TV drama series) - Modern day spy drama following the work of MI5 spies Use of Bradford Police Kudos (2003 - 2008) element in the lives of many of the city’s South Asian Station and other Bradford Screening May/June 2008 based at Thames House. The popular series has run to three series with a fourth in England came to Bradford to meet friends population. According to the Commission for Racial Equality, production. Primary showing on BBC 3 and shown in the USA as MI5. locations and family and to take in a Bollywood movie. Bradford has the largest South Asian population outside of White Girl (TV drama) - This is the inspirational story of 11 year old Leah McNeil and her Leeds and Bradford Tiger Aspect (2007) London in the UK. More than 88,000 of the city’s 468,000 family's relocation to an entirely Muslim community in Bradford. A touching and emotional Screened March 2008 residents are South Asian (approx 19%). Of this group, 68,000 drama, which explores the hope as well as the tension that can arise when two very different cultures collide. White Girl was part of a season of documentary and drama on (77%) are of Pakistani origin with nearly half of all South BBC2 focusing on the white working class in modern Britain. Asians living in Yorkshire and Humber living in Bradford. There are also over 12,000 Indians (about 2.7% of the city's Wild Child (feature film) - Was supported by Screen Yorkshire's production liaison Yorkshire including Working Title (2007) department. The feature film tells the tale of a rebellious Malibu princess shipped off to a Haworth population) and 5,000 Bangladeshis (just over 1%). The Black strict English boarding school by her father. The cast is led by up and coming young population is comparatively small with just over 4,000, less American actress Emma Roberts (niece of Julia). Film makers drafted in local school children to take the roles of extras. Due for release in Summer 2008. than 1% of the population. 16% of Bradford residents are Muslim, compared to the national average of 3%. Brideshead Revisited (feature film) - Screen Yorkshire invested £250,000 in the feature film Locations in Yorkshire Ecosse Films (2007) through its Production Fund and also provided extensive production liaison support. Set including Bradford In the early days of immigration to Bradford, film screenings during the golden age before the Second World War, Brideshead Revisited tells the story of Charles Ryder's infatuation with the Marchmain family and the rapidly disappearing world of provided an important social meeting place for the new privilege that they inhabit. immigrants to the city.

Housewife 49 (television drama) - Is based on the wartime diaries of Nella Last. Shot at Keighley & Worth Valley (2006) “Cinemas were great places for social gatherings because North Light Studios in Huddersfield and Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. Written by and Railway people worked those days in mills. You hardly saw anybody starring English actress and comedian Victoria Wood, it follows the experiences of an ordinary housewife and mother in the Northern English town of Barrow-in-Furness during that was unemployed. Being unemployed is part of the World War II. culture now, those days there was hardly anybody who was on the dole or claiming unemployment benefit. So people Mischief Night (comedy drama) - Two families (one white, one Asian) come together on a Leeds and Bradford Verve Pictures, 2006 night of carnival trickery. Screen Yorkshire invested £250,000 in the production. worked and people used to have one day a week, like Sundays or Saturdays. And that’s what people did. People used to get Britz (TV feature) - A contemporary thriller about a hunt to uncover an active terrorist cell in Trinity Rd, Russell St, Menthorn, 2006 up on Saturdays and dress themselves up, put on a nice suit mainland Britain. Written and directed by multi-award winner Peter Kosminsky. Carlton St, Melbourne and then go out or go to visit each other, and then go to see a Place Bradford film. In the cinemas you could buy teas and kebabs and Private Life (short film) - Yorkshire, England 1952: Ruth Ackroyd leaves the monotony of Dalton Mills in Keighley Mad Cat Films, 2006 samosas and things. They had canteens of their own, and you father's textile mill and secretly takes the train to Manchester. saw each other through the breaks or afterwards. It provided

Like Minds (feature film) - A forensic psychologist (Toni Collette) is tasked with determining Bradford Grammar School Lumina Films, Bluewater that social need because people didn’t go to pubs, they’d go to whether or not a minor should face murder charges. Pictures, Gunpowder Films, cinemas instead.” Tempo Productions Ltd, 2005 Oral history quoted by Irma Imran et al, 1994

North and South (drama series) - Elizabeth Gaskell's classic story of a middle class Dalton Mills in Keighley BBC, 2004 southerner forced to move to the northern town of Milton. The cinemas offered more than just an opportunity to enjoy films, they were central to the social and cultural experience.

Yasmin (feature film) - A young Muslim woman living in Britain campaigns for the release Keighley Paralax International, 2004 South Asian people from all over the North of England came of her immigrant husband from his detainment in a holding centre. Supported by Screen to Bradford to meet friends and family and to take in a Yorkshire. Bollywood movie. In recent years, as with British cinema generally, the rise in home video and DVD plus the increase in 13 Some of the most recent films connected with Bradford 2004 to 2008 Crowds gathered in Centenary Square, Bradford choice of entertainment and leisure options, has seen the role 14 of cinema diminish. However, film continues to very popular languages, and increasingly in a mix of and English, among Bradford’s South Asian communities. known as Hinglish. This is why Bollywood films are equally accessible to Bradford’s Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. Recent The work of local photographer Tim Smith and local social trends are for Bollywood films to be subtitled into English historian Irna Qureshi has recorded the impact of migration to making them yet more accessible to mainstream audiences. the UK, and specifically Bradford, from places like Mirpur, a district of Kashmir which accounts for nearly 75% of Pakistanis “It’s kind of inherent in Indian genes isn’t it that you kind in Britain. Here to Stay (1995) used interviews together with of watch Bollywood as you’re growing older so I don’t think archive and contemporary photographs to chart the history of you can measure how big a fan you are because it’s been part Bradford’s South Asian communities. Home from Home was of your culture in a way. It does almost attach you to your produced in 1997 to mark the 50th anniversary of Partition. roots in a way.” Oral history quoted by Irna Qureshi, 2007 Indian film and Bollywood Bradford has long enjoyed a connection with the Indian film Cultural importance of Bollywood industry which is of course the largest in the world. The city With the advent of formats such as DVD and internet has hosted many UK premieres of epic Bollywood productions downloads, Indian cinema is an ever growing part of South and has been visited by some of India’s most prominent film Asian culture. This translates into other areas such as music directors. In 2007, Yorkshire was the setting for the and fashion and acts as a unifying force among the younger International Indian Film Awards (IIFAs), sponsored by famous generations. Bollywood actor, . Britain is one of Bollywood’s main overseas markets, with Indian cinema produces more than 1,000 films every year with many Indian films scheduled for simultaneous release in at least half the major films being shot in overseas locations. India and Britain. Recent Bollywood storylines have even featured non-resident Indians (NRIs), to appeal to the huge Film plays a very important role in Indian, Pakistani, number of expatriate Indian nationals living mostly in Canada, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan culture. Indian cinema (and USA and Britain. This is an important market since the NRI Bollywood, in particular) attracts audiences that are equal to audience can bring in over half of a Bollywood film’s total or greater than those for Hollywood or other Western films. earnings; for instance, a British NRI pays at least 20 times more for his ticket than a film goer in India. Language of Bollywood as a unifying force India is a country with 17 major languages and six major With the growing media interest in Bollywood, non-Asians are religious denominations. Its ethnic minority communities are looking for ways to access the genre. the same size as entire Eastern European countries. Bollywood “I don’t go and see lots of Bollywood films because I don’t is a uniting thread amid the diversity of this vast nation with think I’ve got a frame of reference really, so I think I just sort movies helping to bridge the language divide. They perform a of need to get stuck in and find out more because it’s similar role here in the UK. Pakistanis are Punjabi speakers becoming part of our cultural heritage and make-up isn’t it? and enjoy the same films as those who speak Hindu and Urdu. So you need to know more about it even if you haven’t grown When spoken, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi are largely the same up on Bollywood.” language although their unique scripts distinguish them. Oral history quoted by Irna Qureshi, 2007 The ability to speak any one of these means being able to understand the other two. This makes film accessible to Such is its popularity in Bradford that the main multiplex, Bollywood Academy IIFA more people. Cineworld, devotes five screens, and the Leeds Bradford Celebration at the Odeon at least four, to Bollywood films. The popularity among National Media Museum Bollywood movies are produced in a mixture of Urdu and Hindi Bradford’s non-Asian audiences is such that the local 15 16 This is certainly part of the reason that Yorkshire was chosen to host the 2007 Awards. In their pitch to the IIFA directors, the bid organisers from Yorkshire (including Bradford) emphasised the positive impact in terms of image and the creation of a feel good factor among the local South Asian and Muslim population of Yorkshire and the UK as a whole. The IIFA awards for Yorkshire sent a message of Yorkshire multiculturalism as a positive force for the future. We have Zulfi Karim, one of the IIFA bid organisers, on the City of Film Board.

Yorkshire and the Bradford area in particular, with its NMeM’s exhibition of poster dramatic and romantic natural scenery, was an ideal setting art and photographs from for the IIFAs. South Asian cinema

“I know really clichéd, very surface things like lots of colour and massive dance scenes. Scenery’s really important, isn’t it, because I think that they’re hoping that Ilkley Moor might be a good backdrop for the next Bollywood hit!” From interviews with IIFA attendees collected by Irna Qureshi, 2007 Above: Opening night community radio station, Bradford Community Broadcasting spectacular show at IIFAs To coincide with the IIFAs coming to Yorkshire, there were (BCB) is already running a monthly 30 minute programme, ’07, Bradford several South Asian film related activities in Bradford itself Bollywood for Beginnners, (assisted and hosted by City of left: Bollwood star actress including: , at Film Board members, Irna Qureshi and Mary Dowson) to help the National Media Museum mainstream audiences understand some of the visual • NMeM’s exhibition of poster art and photographs from vocabulary of Bollywood. South Asian cinema. The Museum aimed to record ordinary people's memories of how and when they first International Indian Film Academy Awards saw some of the classic movies, such as Mother India, In 2007, Bradford was one of the cities in Yorkshire (along and , for use in the exhibition with Sheffield, Leeds, York and Hull) to play host to the • selected by guest curator Dr. Rajinder Dudrah, Senior prestigious International Indian Film Academy Awards, Lecturer in Film and Media Studies at Manchester known as the IIFAs. University, the top 16 films up for discussion included The IIFAs, which attract a television audience of more than Mother India , , Awaara , Sholay , Pakeezah , Dilwale 500 million, began in 2000 in London and have since been Dulhania Le Jayenge , , Umrao Jaan held in different cities across the world each year. Past host (the one starring ), Lagaan , Kabhie Kushi Kabhi cities have included London - UK, Sun City - South Africa, Gham, Veer Zaara, Pather Panchali, Chashme Buddoor, Genting Highlands - Malaysia, Johannesburg - South Africa, Company, Page 3 and Being Cyrus Singapore, Amsterdam - Netherlands and Dubai - UAE. • co-ordinated by the BD3 Partnership, the Mini Mela brought people from all cultures and ages from IIFA holds an underlying principle that: the local community to a fun event for all the family. ‘cinema is a key to open minds, building bridges across Activities included celebrity appearances, a celebration of businesses, communities, nations and cinemas, creating one South Asian cuisine, community displays, amusement people, one world’ stalls and performances on stage. 17 18 • local artists Jo Coupe and Adam Hart presented a new working in Britain while living in her traditional Pakistani collection of paintings inspired by the Bollywood Oscars at culture. Shot in Keighley and broadcast on Channel 4, the National Media Museum. Jo Coupe’s iconic paintings it contributed to the national debate on the social, and Adam Hart's abstract artwork capture the vibrancy religious and political aspects of being South Asian, and visual imagery of Bollywood Muslim and British

• Bollywood Steps - Produced by Remarkable Productions, • Bradford Riots - In July 2001, following weeks of tension Bollywood Steps was a spectacular outdoor dance and and activity on the part of the National Front and the BNP, music extravaganza with water and pyrotechnic effects, the Manningham area of Bradford experienced what has exciting dance numbers, outrageous props, smoke, been described as the worst rioting in mainland Britain for glamour, courtship and a kaleidoscope of quick costume 20 years. Based on first-hand research within Bradford’s changes in the front of City Hall, Bradford Pakistani community, Bradford Riots tells of that night from the perspective of a group of young South Asian • Bollywood Bazaar - The heart of Bradford's city centre men whose lives have been defined and decimated by was filled with the sights, sounds and smells of the Indian these events. sub-continent with stalls offering a huge array of foods, fashions, jewellery, accessories and textiles. Coupled with Film can give a voice to those wishing to explore issues such a programme of street entertainment over three days, the as the cultural stereotypes associated with Pakistani culture Bollywood Bazaar gave everyone the opportunity to in both a comic and serious way. Hanif Kureishi’s My Son the sample the flavours of South Fanatic (1997) and the highly successful East is East (1997) by • BBC Big Screen - There was an exclusive live broadcast Ayub Khan Din both used humour to address sensitive, racial from Centenary Square, Bradford of the IIFA Awards and cultural issues. Ceremony from Sheffield as it happened. There was also an outdoor film festival on the BBC Big Screen with six The Aapna Channel, a Kashmiri channel with a focus on free screenings of some of the biggest films from drama and human interest, has been broadcasting live from Bollywood Bradford since April 2007 and aims to contribute to the voice of the Kashmiri community. Three of the channel’s four • The Trouble with Asian Men - The award winning directors and all of its employees are from Bradford, and the company behind the popular film East is East lifted the lid company has links with other major South Asian centres in on today’s South Asian men in this hilarious show at the UK. It also runs its own production company, Vision Alhambra Studio, Bradford. Creative Enterprises, focusing on producing drama and other film productions for Asian broadcasting. Aapna is just It is anticipated that the legacy of the IIFAs will be growing one of many South Asian film and media companies based links with the Indian film industry. Bollywood producers are in Bradford. Above: Bollywood Steps a looking for more cost-effective alternatives to London for spectacular outdoor dance shooting film and have expressed in interest in Bradford as a and music extravaganza The ethnic minority population within Bradford is not limited potential location and source of extras. Top right: Waiting for stars, to those from a South Asian background. There are also many photographer Osman Anwar groups originating from European countries, as witnessed by Beyond Bollywood Middle right: IIFA Charity the establishment of a Polish film society and interest Cricket Match, Yorkshire, South Asian film in the UK extends beyond the thrills and photographer Osman Anwar expected from other national groups. romance of Bollywood. Film makers from Bradford have used Bottom right: IIFA Awards at NMeM, photographer film as a powerful medium to explore issues relating to the Osman Anwar political and social environment they experience as UK Muslims:

• Yasmin (2004) - A topical drama told from the viewpoint of 19 Yasmin, a strong and westernised South Asian woman 20 Celebrating film into the future The City of Film project will help Bradford: Bradford’s connections with film are long standing, from the • continue to develop its film industry connections pioneers of cinematic technology to the classic film locations, • extend its role as a centre for diverse film exhibition, from the days when the city had over 40 cinemas to the era of promotion and collaboration the big screen and multi-platform exhibition. • document and celebrate its history and achievements Film is celebrated in Bradford through film festivals, the in film. collections at the National Media Museum and through a More details about the role of film in Bradford today and variety of publications and special exhibitions that have taken future plans are presented in the two accompanying place over the years. Two recent examples are: volumes, City of Film – Setting the Scene and City of Film – • Bollywood in Love - curated in 2002 by Bradford based Vision On. social historian Irna Qureshi, this exhibition featured specifically commissioned photography by Bradford photographer Tim Smith. It included photographs taken on the location of major Bollywood hits shot in the UK. The exhibition drew on the BFI’s film poster collection, but also included Indian film posters from the NMeM and

• Lost City - At the Centenary celebrations of the Lord Mayor’s Pageant, in October 2007, the city presented a free screening at Pictureville Cinema at the National Media Museum of the rarely-seen 1958 BBC documentary in which Bradford's famous literary son J B Priestley returns to his home town to revisit the places of his youth.

Sir Tom Courtnay promotes This year Bradford celebrated Bradford’s achievements in film are also documented through Bradford’s Cinema Trail it’s 14th Annual Film Festival the NMeM, Bradford Library Archives which are also a rich source of local history images and film clips, and the Yorkshire Film Archive (YFA). The archive which has recently moved into new premises that include specialist temperature and humidity-controlled film and video vaults, has the capacity to store approximately 30,000 cans.

Films in the archive are truly diverse covering civic, community and personal events. Some of those relating to Bradford include Jubilee Celebrations, the Bradford Pageant, the 700th Anniversary of Bradford’s Market Charter, Royal visits, VE day and VJ day celebrations, villages and school events, floods and the annual car rally.

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